Hot and Not so Hot Talk Radio
Recently Air America, the liberal answer to the prevailing Conservative talk radio programs, declared bankruptcy. It appears that Liberal dogma doesn't translate well on radio. While the Liberal radio network contemplates how it will not pay it bills, I was curious to find out which talk programs are hot.
Before I had a chance to do some serious research, I stumbled on a Parade Magazine, which had a list this week of the top five radio talk show hosts. Who are they?
Rush Limbaugh, the Godfather of modern Conservative talk radio, is number one with an estimated 13.5 million listeners. Limbaugh has gone through numerous personal challenges and has had to adapt to the ever changing talk radio environment. In the end, however, he remains very Conservative and very popular.
Sean Hannity, who is relatively new compared to Limbaugh and is as known as co-host of a show on Fox News, has a substantial audience of 12.5 million. Every bit as Conservative as Limbaugh and with a phenomenal audience.
Michael Savage, of Savage Nation, may be the most frightening of Conservative talk show hosts. He says exactly what he feels, even if it is offensive, and it attracts a massive audience of over 8 million (his site claims 10 million). Savage is also an intellectual with a PhD from UC Berkeley in Epidemiology and Nutritional Science.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a long time Conservative darling who focuses on cultural, social, and (especially) psychological issues. Her PhD is in Physiology (from Columbia) but has training in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Southern California and is a licensed Marriage, Family and Children Counselor. Very controversial, but also quite popular with 8 million listeners.
Finally, the only other woman on the top 5 list is Laura Ingraham. Following her graduation from Dartmouth, much of Laura's career has been in government related institutions, including a stint as a speech writer for Ronald Reagan and (following getting a law degree from the University of Virginia) a period as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Very Conservative, and very popular, she enjoys an audience of over 5 million.
What do we learn from this assessment? Conservative radio is hot (these hosts have a combined audience of over 45 million, though I'm sure many listen to more than one show) and, from the struggles seen by Air America, Liberal radio is not. In a future post I'll discuss why this is the case.
Before I had a chance to do some serious research, I stumbled on a Parade Magazine, which had a list this week of the top five radio talk show hosts. Who are they?
Rush Limbaugh, the Godfather of modern Conservative talk radio, is number one with an estimated 13.5 million listeners. Limbaugh has gone through numerous personal challenges and has had to adapt to the ever changing talk radio environment. In the end, however, he remains very Conservative and very popular.
Sean Hannity, who is relatively new compared to Limbaugh and is as known as co-host of a show on Fox News, has a substantial audience of 12.5 million. Every bit as Conservative as Limbaugh and with a phenomenal audience.
Michael Savage, of Savage Nation, may be the most frightening of Conservative talk show hosts. He says exactly what he feels, even if it is offensive, and it attracts a massive audience of over 8 million (his site claims 10 million). Savage is also an intellectual with a PhD from UC Berkeley in Epidemiology and Nutritional Science.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a long time Conservative darling who focuses on cultural, social, and (especially) psychological issues. Her PhD is in Physiology (from Columbia) but has training in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Southern California and is a licensed Marriage, Family and Children Counselor. Very controversial, but also quite popular with 8 million listeners.
Finally, the only other woman on the top 5 list is Laura Ingraham. Following her graduation from Dartmouth, much of Laura's career has been in government related institutions, including a stint as a speech writer for Ronald Reagan and (following getting a law degree from the University of Virginia) a period as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Very Conservative, and very popular, she enjoys an audience of over 5 million.
What do we learn from this assessment? Conservative radio is hot (these hosts have a combined audience of over 45 million, though I'm sure many listen to more than one show) and, from the struggles seen by Air America, Liberal radio is not. In a future post I'll discuss why this is the case.
posted by Kevin Price at 9:00 PM
2 Comments:
I am quite liberal and find myself watching shows like O'Reilly for laugh factor more than anything. In reality liberal talk show pundits are fairly boring compared to over the top big headed people Like Rush and Bill.
Thanks for your comment, Mike. So Al Franken of Air America is too subdued and dignified for you? Hmmm....
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